Saving the Villain

"Welcome back..." The head butler of the Blac mansion trailed off as Cosette walked past him. His brows furrowed, glancing back to look at Cosette's figure. He shrugged and was about to greet Maxen, but the latter just simply walked past him.

Butler George and the servants who came out to welcome the two looked at each other in confusion. Meanwhile, the butler turned around to face the main entrance of the mansion. He cocked his head to the side.

Usually, every time Cosette and Maxen arrived home, she had a huge smile on her face. Maxen's smile might not be that big, but everyone could tell he was happy. So it was easy to detect the coldness emanating from the two, signaling them that something was off.

Even though Cosette and Maxen hadn't been talking for the past several days, they didn't show it to everyone. They didn't want them to worry, but now, they couldn't hide the tension between them.

"I wonder what could have happened to them to fight?"

That question wasn't limited to the head butler and the servants. Even Conrad, who was coincidentally in the lobby, on his way to his home office, had the same question when the entrance opened.

"Oh, Coset --"

"Hi, Dad," Cosette greeted, but only hastened her steps until she was jogging her way to the stairs.

Conrad furrowed his brows as his eyes followed his daughter's figure before shifting his attention to the other person entering the mansion's lobby.

"Good evening," Maxen stopped, greeting Conrad with a slight bow.

"What happened to her?" asked Conrad without beating around the bush. "She doesn't seem in a good mood."

Maxen slowly raised his eyes to the second floor, but he only caught the tip of her hair. "It was my fault."

"What happened?"

"Just... something." Maxen looked back at Conrad, keeping a tight lip. "Don't worry about it, Dad. I will fix it. Just give me... and her some time to cool down."

"Time to cool down..."

"Anyway, I'm a little tired, so I'll go rest in my room first." Maxen did a neck bow again and didn't idle as he sauntered off.

Conrad didn't stop Maxen and simply watched him walk away. He had been watching over Cosette and Maxen for almost two years now, and during that time, he had never seen those two fight. If anything, they would always communicate and fix things before anyone else could notice.

But now, it seemed, the fight the two had was something they couldn't hide. Which made him wonder...

"What could it be?" murmured Conrad, his brows furrowed. "Well... they were growing older, so I'm sure they'll be fine."

Conrad was confident in Cosette and Maxen, so he shrugged it off. Still, it remained at the back of his head. But he also knew it was better to let things cool down, just as Maxen told him.

********

Cosette was almost running the closer she got to her room. When she reached her destination, she kicked the door closed and threw herself on the mattress. It didn't take long when her sniffles resonated in the room, muffling the sound as she hugged a pillow.

She felt emotional, and she couldn't stop the tears that were falling from her eyes. Hence, Cosette allowed herself to cry her heart out to release the pain she tucked away from the deepest part of her heart. This was the second time -- the first was the night she regained her memories and cried under pouring rain -- she allowed herself to express the heart of that Cosette Blac.

The woman who loved a man so deeply that it was devastating.

Yet, be it then or now, Maxen was still the same when it comes to their relationship. Not exactly, but he still questions her heart. Wasn't it obvious how much she love him? That despite all the things he had done, despite all the pain he deliberately inflicted on her and others, she was still deeply, madly, and ardently in love with him.

She forgave him... even the devil himself wouldn't have the guts to do so. However, she couldn't use that argument. Maxen didn't know. He had no idea what he had done and how far she went just to be with him.

And that what the reason for these tears.

Cosette was the only person who knew everything, and even though she carried it well under the facades of enjoying her youth and becoming a youth, it didn't mean the weight wasn't crippling. Acting like a foolish girl who didn't know what was good for her helped her forget the tight chains binding her to this thing called guilt. If she had to use her heart and mind every second of every day, Cosette might just fall deeper and deeper into the pits of hell she jumped to willingly.

To save everyone else, she had to carry a weight she could never talk about. Perhaps that was her way of repentance... for choosing Maxen even in this life. For choosing the villain who destroyed everyone's lives instead of seeking his retribution. Or maybe... this was simply a deal she had secretly agreed on with herself. She would save them all as a way to lessen the guilt in her heart because she knew if life would ask her directly and make her choose, she would choose Maxen in a heartbeat.

Surely, no one would understand that or her. Cosette couldn't even understand why she love him so much she could sacrifice the world just to save him.

Cosette cried and cried until she could no longer shed tears. She had no idea how much time had passed, pushing herself to sit up on the bed. She hiccupped, turning her head in the study desk's direction.

A deep exhale slipped past her lips, flinging her legs out, and then sauntered towards the desk. When she sat on the chair, she opened a drawer where her journal rests. She picked it up and placed it in front of her, opening the cover only to see the title she wrote.

[ A life with my baby villain ]

Her eyes softened, touching it with her fingertips.

"I was too hasty," she whispered, eyes on the title of the first page. Another quiet sigh slipped past her nostrils, reaching for a pen and quietly crossing out the title. She then wrote something underneath the first title.

[ Saving the Villain ]

"Better." A subtle and bitter smile turned up on her face, only to furrow her brows when a red fluid landed on the paper. "Huh?"

Cosette touched her upper lip and then drew her hand away to look at her finger.

Blood.

She didn't panic but just gazed at her finger. After a while, the side of her lips curled up subtly.

"I guess I was really hasty..." another whisper slipped past her lips. "But then again, even if I write villainess, I didn't want to be saved."

All she wanted was to be happy for as long as she could. She didn't want to be greedy and ask for an extension. Going back was already a lot, and she was grateful for it. She couldn't ask for more.